The door slammed open so hard that the cave seemed to shake. Startled out of a deep sleep, Skipper jolted awake. He and Kowalski blinked at the doorway to see Iczalie standing there, fire in her blue eyes. She stormed forward, knocking aside the water bowl.
"Up!" she barked. "Up now!"
"What's wrong?" Kowalski asked as they stood.
"You follow," she said gruffly.
Neither of them dared to say a word as they followed her out into a group of male penguins. The only one they recognized was Khlamon, who had accompanied Iczalie during their first few meetings. The same fire gleamed in his eyes, and he fell into step beside Iczalie. Skipper and Kowalski glanced at each other nervously. There was something that had these penguins wired, and they were terrified to see what was coming. Iczalie said nothing as she began to lead the two prisoners down the hallway into unfamiliar territory.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Private stood still beside Rico amidst the dozens of soldiers. The soldiers' orders were clear: Do not interfere with Rico and Private unless told to by them. There were no native-borns besides Rico, but they would join them later. For now, it was a waiting game. They needed the signal from Iczalie for Rico to begin. The elaborate maps that they'd drawn up over the past two weeks showed the tunnels beneath. Their goal was a weak wall that Rico would blow up when the signal was given.
General Buzz and Olek walked over, their expressions tense. This was their first real fight with the maniacal dolphin and his men, and from what Rico had divulged to them, they knew this was going to be massive. The two penguins settled beside Rico and Private, scanning the icy cliff face for the signal. Private nodded at them, but Rico said nothing, his eyes blazing with an inner fire that worried most of the soldiers. It was Buzz that broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, Rico."
Rico turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
Private translated then Buzz snorted. "Come now. I haven't been the friendliest penguin. Certainly you know that."
"You have a hard job, General," Rico said. "But I just cannot overlook what you think and say about your own son. Even Olek doesn't speak ill of Aleks. What happened to make you hate him so much?"
Buzz took a deep breath and let it out. "Private mentioned it a while ago. It has to do with Denmark." He paused then rubbed his head, ruffling his feathers. "Stealing fish from private military stores, blowing up half a block around the Copenhagen city capital, running from the law, running from me, then trying to blame it on some puffin."
"Hans?" Private asked absently. "That guy's a jerk. Always fighting with Skipper. Skipper hates him."
The general snapped his beak shut, staring at Private. "Hans? I thought my son never talked about Denmark?"
"He doesn't. Hans found us," Private said. "We shipped him to New Jersey. He helped Blowhole to remove Skipper's memories to break into our base. There was an incident with a flying music player, singing, and lots of fighting." Private smiled and nudged Rico. "That was quite the adventure, wasn't it?"
Buzz and Olek stared at him. "He wasn't lying about Hans?" Buzz asked faintly.
"Why would he?" Private asked.
The gruff penguin shook his head, turning to stare at nothing. Olek sighed.
"My son did not run from me nor lie," he said. "But we grew apart. He is so experimental and dangerous. And that dolphin," he sighed.
"Doris?" Private asked.
"Yes. It is not possible."
"He's getting over it. They're still friends," Private said. He looked up into the sky. "He doesn't understand emotions very well. So it swept him away. He's learning, though. I think I'm helping him to understand."
"You are a very wise boy," Olek said.
"I'm no boy," Private said. "I'm a warrior."
"You are," Buzz said. "Maybe it's time Skipper and I sit down and have a good talk."
"I think Skipper would like that," Private said.
There was a pop and fire showed up in the sky above them, smoke staining the sky black.
"That's the signal!" Buzz said. "Are we ready men?"
Rico stood up, gripping Private's shoulder. "You are ready. Do what you must."
"I will, Ree-ko," Private said firmly and they headed for the wall.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Skipper and Kowalski stared in surprise as Iczalie stepped down, tossing aside the pouch she always kept at her side. It was now empty. In a flash of fire, the gunpowder within had been consumed and had let out a roar of flames and thick, black smoke. She took a deep breath then stood straight.
"You fight well?" she demanded.
"Of course," Kowalski said. "But we don't know wild-style."
"You no need to know that," Iczalie said. "You fight what you know. Go for dolphin."
"What?"
"What are you doing?" a soft, dangerous voice asked.
Turning, they saw Manfredi and Johnson standing there, scanning their faces. Iczalie stood straight and spit at their feet.
"Traitors," she snarled.
"You've been talking with Skipper and Kowalski," Johnson said. "Blowhole said not to."
"Because they good and him not. Me know everything now!" Iczalie said, meeting his icy gaze without fear.
"Then we'll have to kill you," Manfredi said.
Suddenly there was an explosion that made the floor rock. Skipper gasped in surprise, and Kowalski steadied him. Looking at each other, bewildered beyond belief, they realized that things were beginning to happen. Weaponless, they slid into a martial arts pose, their hearts beating fast. They had no clue what was happening, but the explosion hadn't surprised the group of native-borns around them. Manfredi and Johnson, on the other hand, looked angry and shocked.
"You're the traitors!" Johnson snarled.
There was the sound of scrambling feet and more penguins burst in, screaming about an attack. And then the chief came in, Blowhole at his side. He stared at his daughter, and his eyes narrowed with rage. Just like the rage that had always been there when he looked at his eldest son. And just like her brother, Iczalie snorted and turned her back on her father.
"What is the meaning of this, Iczalie?" the chief asked.
"You are no threat. You are shameful. You attacked your own son!" she shrieked. "My Ree-ko! You attacked him!"
And a change came over both the chief and Blowhole. The chief looked outraged, flexing his feet as he glared at his daughter. He looked ready to strike, and she wondered if this was the same expression that Rico saw, dark and angry and sticky with hate. But Blowhole suddenly looked terrified.
"Rico?!" he screamed. "You mean to say that Rico is your missing son?!" He leaned back in his bubble, his eye wild. "Rico isn't dead, you nitwit! He's part of their team!"
And the chief turned and spoke perfect English. "How was I to know that he survived?"
"You said that there was no way he could live," Blowhole fumed. "You said that Skipper and Kowalski left him for dead!"
"He is dead to me!" the chief roared. "Disobedient fool that he was! He dared to disobey me, dared to say no! So I taught him a lesson!"
"You mean you tried to kill him," Iczalie said quietly in English.
The chief and Blowhole looked over in surprise. It was only the chief that knew English, or so they thought. Blowhole narrowed his good eye and burbled.
"You've got a disobedient daughter, too, Naruno," he said softly. "She's been talking to the prisoners. Didn't you tell her not to?"
"I did," Naruno growled.
"I no listen no more. You tried to kill Ree-ko. You no deserve to be chief."
"Is that a challenge, daughter?" Naruno asked coldly.
Skipper was backed against the wall, listening and watching as best he could. A soft noise stared from behind him. He paused and pressed his ear against it then gasped. Iczalie was standing right against the wall, too close to the noise.
"Get down!" he screamed, hooking his flipper around Iczalie's neck and slinging her to the other side of the room. Kowalski followed just in time.
An almighty explosion rocked the room, and ice and frozen earth exploded outward. Smoke billowed around them, and Skipper coughed, sitting up to see a massive hole. And standing there in the smoke was the last penguin he wanted to see. And next to his father was Rico, fire gleaming in his eyes just like his sister. A dynamite stick was in his flipper and he grinned, a crazed look on his face.
"Ka-boom," he grated out.
Blowhole swore violently. "Get them, you fools!"
But no penguin moved. All native-born eyes were latched onto Rico, their lost prince who was not dead, as his father had said, but alive, scarred but well.
"I challenge chief, not Iczalie," Rico croaked.
"And I," said a young, familiar voice. "Challenge Manfredi and Johnson for the death of my parents."
Skipper and Kowalski gaped up at the penguin that spoke. It was Private's voice, but it looked nothing like their little Private. There was no chubby boy standing there, but a lean, muscular penguin, fire dancing in his blue eyes and conviction in his tone. No fat remained on their little boy anymore, and the expression on his face was so intense that he scared even Skipper and Kowalski. And then the words registered. Death of my parents. And they realized that Private now knew some, if not all, of his tragic hatching story.
The chief stared at Rico, and he couldn't keep the hatred from showing. "You dare?" he hissed.
Rico reached up and pressed his flipper against his scar. "You are brave, Father, considering what you did."
"I will kill you if you insist on this challenge," Naruno warned.
"Then do a better job this time," Rico mocked.
And he stepped forward. The native-borns began to back up, leaving Blowhole, Naruno, and Rico in the middle. Blowhole looked around, and Skipper and Kowalski saw it click that he was not in charge as he'd hoped. The penguins had their own culture to adhere to, and this was the most serious challenge that could happen. He spun around and broke through the wall of penguins then fled.
"After him!" Buzz shouted, and the military penguins rushed out. Manfredi and Johnson raced out, too, and Private screamed in rage, sending chills up his superiors' spines. Rico nodded once, not taking his eyes off of his father.
"Go," he grunted.
Private shot away, chasing after the murderers who had taken his parents away. Skipper and Kowalski shouted after him and, without even looking at Rico, raced after him. The chief laughed and spoke in his native tongue.
"They are not loyal to you," he taunted.
"They are more loyal than you are. They believe in me. They aren't worried," Rico replied, descending into Antarctican.
Iczalie watched her brother and father prepare to fight. The penguins around them began to stop their feet, left then right, again and again, and slapped their sides with their flippers. They began to chant to Icza, and Rico ignored the words. Iczalie's feminine voice rose over the males, and Rico felt reassured that at least one family member was rooting for him. He couldn't see any other siblings, but they had all been so young and it had been so long.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Ree-ko?" Naruno asked coldly.
"You do not deserve to be chief," Rico replied. "You are a murderer. You've killed enemies who were helpless. I refuse to let you hurt anybody else."
And the chant rose higher and higher, reaching a fever pitch as the beat of flippers and feet swirled through the air. Rico didn't move, keeping his eyes on his father, and the chief stared at him. And then everybody went silent. For a few moments, the tension swelled as the silence deafened the watching penguins. And then the chief lunged forward with a scream of hatred and the fight for chieftain began.